The Collegium Nobilium was an elite boarding college for the sons of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

s and wealthy nobles (''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

''), founded in 1740 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

by the

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

intellectual,

Stanisław Konarski Stanisław Konarski, Sch.P. (actual name: Hieronim Konarski; 30 September 1700 – 3 August 1773) was a Polish pedagogue, educational reformer, political writer, poet, dramatist, Piarist priest and precursor of the Enlightenment in the Polish– ...

, and run by his religious brethren. It is often confused with another college foundation in Warsaw of the same name, only founded by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1752 and serving the same demographic. That one was forced to close as a result of the

suppression of the Society of Jesus The suppression of the Society of Jesus was the removal of all members of the Jesuits from most of Western Europe and their respective colonies beginning in 1759 along with the abolition of the order by the Holy See in 1773; the papacy acceded ...

in Western Europe in 1777.

History

The Piarist school existed until 1832 and was one of the predecessors of

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

. It was initially called ''Collegium Novum'', but its name was changed in the autumn of 1741. It operated in a building on Warsaw's Długa Street. Later, it was moved to the district of

Żoliborz Żoliborz () is one of the northern dzielnica, districts of the city of Warsaw. It is located directly to the north of the Warszawa-Śródmieście, City Centre, on the left bank of the Vistula river. It has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and is ...

. The aim of the ''Collegium Nobilium'' was to educate future leaders of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, and to prepare them to run the country (see also

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...

). The curriculum was spread over eight years, with grades II, IV, and V, consisting of two year cycles. The school had an unusual syllabus for the time, concentrating on natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy and modern languages, and with less emphasis on

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. Stanisław Konarski selected well-educated teachers and introduced courses in history, law, economics and science. The ''Collegium Nobilium'' building was almost completely destroyed during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

. It was rebuilt after the war, together with its classical

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

Other Piarist schools

Wilno Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Notable alumni

Tadeusz Rejtan Tadeusz Reytan (surname also alternatively spelled as ''Rejtan'', and rarely ''Reyten''; ; ; 20 August 1742 – 8 August 1780) was a nobleman from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was a member of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commo ...

Roman Ignacy Potocki Count Roman Ignacy Potocki, generally known as Ignacy Potocki (; 1750–1809), was a Polish nobleman, member of the influential magnate Potocki family, owner of Klementowice and Olesin (near Kurów), a politician, statesman, writer, and offi ...

Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician, writer, public intellectual, and patron of the arts. He was involved in public education and active in the period that has been terme ...

Zenon Kazimierz Wysłouch Zenon Kazimierz Wysłouch (1727–1805) was a chamberlain of the Brzeskie Voivodeship and a member of the Great Sejm. Born on the Leżajka family estate (Polesie, currently Belarus) as the first son of Antoni Stanisław and Joanna Kościa-Zbirohow ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobilium History of education in Warsaw Educational institutions established in 1740 Piarist Order 1832 disestablishments Defunct schools in Poland Universities and colleges in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Universities and colleges in Warsaw Educational institutions disestablished in 1832 Piarist schools Universities and colleges established in the 18th century Universities and colleges disestablished in the 19th century

History

Other Piarist schools

Notable alumni

See also

References